


County Fair

by summer_of_1985



Series: You are the fond object of my affection and my desire [7]
Category: Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: Episode: s03e06 The Summit of My Desires, F/M, What-If, county fair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:47:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23106460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/summer_of_1985/pseuds/summer_of_1985
Summary: What if Winifred's parents didn't accept Bash at the county fair?
Relationships: Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Series: You are the fond object of my affection and my desire [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1611820
Comments: 11
Kudos: 107





	County Fair

Anne has just been apple bobbing against Jerry. The front of her dress was partially wet as well as the bottom of her hair.

The apples were from the Blythe-Lacroix orchard, the first thing that Gilbert (tried) to give her.

She started walking over to where Bash was sitting with Delphine, but her upper arm was caught by an older gentleman.

"I wouldn't go near him if I were you," he told her, making her raise an eyebrow at the man.

"Excuse me?" She offers him a way of repeating what he just said (most likely about Bash).

The gentleman pointed to Bash (who was cradling a cooing Delphine in his arms), as Gilbert wandered over with the blonde young lady from Charlottetown on his arm. "That man is dangerous,"

"Excuse me?" Gilbert spoke up, having heard what Winnie's father just said. He released Winnie's arm and stood at Anne's side, raising a questioning eyebrow to the man.

"Father!" Winnie exclaims, glaring at her dad as she crossed her arms angrily.

Anne's anger was starting to flare up, probably worse than when Gilbert called her carrots... Gilbert was getting angry as well, refusing to let Bash and Dellie be talked about like this.

* * *

Bash saw the standoff between Gilbert and Anne against the Roses.

"Let's go see what Uncle Gilby and Auntie Anne are doing," Bash said to his daughter and walked over to where the five were standing.

* * *

"What's going on?" Bash asked, standing at Anne's side. Her face was almost as red as her hair, and Gilbert didn't look much happier than what Anne does...

"If that's how you are going to speak about my brother-" Gilbert starts, only to be cut off by Winnie's father.

"He's not your brother-" Mr Rose said, saying something about the colour of Bash's skin.

Winifred took hold of her father's arm. "Papa, you can't say that!" She exclaimed, an angry look in her eyes, but it was nothing compared to the look of fury on Anne and Gilbert's faces.

Anne knew that if she opened her mouth, she would probably say something and possibly lose Gilbert from her life. Now that she has figured out her feelings for the young man, with a heavy heart - she'd accept her place as a friend as he got married to someone else.

She turned around and took Dellie from Bash's hands. "I'm walking away before I say something that would most likely get me in trouble," she said, cradling the babe against her shoulder. Poor Dellie had been so fussy the past couple of weeks, never wanting to go down for her nap.

Gilbert looked away from the Rose family, seeing the look of pure of anger on Anne's face - she was truly living up to the ideal that red-heads have bad tempers. Since he'd met her, Gilbert doesn't think he'd ever seen her so angry.

* * *

Anne was proud to say that she was able to hold her temper and walk away without losing said temper.

She walked over to the rest of her classmates, who had crowded around a table. Diana looked over her shoulder and saw Anne walking over with sweet baby Delphine snuggled in her arms.

"Delphine," Diana smiled walking over to her bosom friend and wiggled her fingers in front of the babe's face - the baby grasped onto Diana's soft hands. And put them in her mouth, starting to bite on the digits. "Miss Delphine, I don't think those will help you,"

Anne shuffled to where her friends were, happily eating ice cream. Anne took the spoon that had been in the ice cream that Diana got for her, wiped the sticky goodness from it, and put the cold spoon in Dellie's free hand.

The baby instantly favoured the cold spoon over Diana's warm fingers.

* * *

Gilbert decided to call off whatever it was that he was doing with Winnie.

"I'm glad we did it now, rather than later," Winnie admitted. "Especially given how you feel about Anne," she continued, making Gilbert look at her in shock.

"How I feel about Anne?" Gilbert asks, raising one of his expressive eyebrows. Of course, he knew how he feels about Anne, but it had truly hit him across the face (like her slate) after the dance a couple of days ago - by that time it was too late to stop Winnie from coming along with her parents.

"Gilbert," the elegant woman crossed her arms, "you love her. Anyone can see it, why you decided to do this bizarre courtship with me is beyond me. Gilbert, you're breaking her heart," this caused the young man who fell back into his childish ways, his expressive eyebrow dropped, and hope rose in his eyes. "She loves you,"

The curly-haired teen blinked his eyes repeatedly, trying to come to terms with what she just said. "She doesn't," Gilbert denied, he didn't want to get his hopes up - only for her to reject him and crush his heart into smithereens.

"She does," Winnie said, pushing him to set down on a nearby bench. "Everyone can see it. I once was told that when a girl is in love that you can see it in her eyes," Gilbert's eyebrows crinkled (more than they'd crinkled ever before), he looked over at Anne - he caught her eye for a second before she looked away. Winnie took his chin between her thumb and forefinger, "and when a boy is in love, you can see it in his smile," she took out a small compact mirror and handed it to Gilbert.

The young man took another look at Anne. Gorgeous, beautiful Anne who has grown into her skin, and he couldn't imagine his life without her.

When he looked in the little mirror, he saw a soft smile reflected at him (and something he'd heard Ruby whisper about earlier in the year 'romance in his eyes').

"Why are you courting me, when you worship the ground that Anne walks on?" Winnie asked as Gilbert handed the little mirror back to her.

He sighed, remembering that day, how hurt he felt - that there would have been no chance to be stood at Anne's side. "I escorted her to Charlottetown, she wants to find out about her parents. She told me that she didn't need me, but she was so happy to see Cole, he moved to Charlottetown after everything that happened with Miss Stacey. I felt so stupid to wish that something could have happened," he said, still feeling the after-effects of the heartbreak that day had caused him.

"That was the same day we went to tea for the first time?" She asked, and got a meek nod in reply. She could see that he was ashamed of his actions, how he's practically broken to girls' hearts. "Gilbert, what has been going on this past couple of weeks was silly. But as I've already said, I'm glad we called it off now," she continued, resting her hand on his shoulder to get his attention. "Go get your girl,"

* * *

Anne was gently rocking a now sleepy Dellie, her eyelids were gently falling as she quietly cooed up at her Auntie Anne.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gilbert making his way over - Winifred no longer attached to the crook of his arm.

"Can I speak with you?" He asks, as softly as he can, when he realises Dellie is falling asleep.

"I'll take my little girl," Bash spoke reaching his hands out for his daughter. Anne slowly and carefully passed the dozing Dellie from her arms to the arms of Dellie's caring and loving papa.

The babe hardly made a fuss, only sighing happily and snuggling into her papa's warmth. Anne doesn't know when Bash decided to turn up and take his little girl, but he did - and Gilbert was grateful.

Gilbert gives a gentle and slightly noticeable nod of his head for Anne to follow him - which she does.

* * *

Gilbert took Anne further away from prying eyes and Rachel Lynde, not wanting the rest of Avonlea to hear about it by sundown.

He was probably giving Mrs Lynde too much credit there...

"Anne," he gazed upon the lovely sight before him. He'd only taken a year to gaze upon her before he left to travel and see part of the world. Since he'd come back, he has been able to gaze for months - only recently had she started doing the same back.

"I hope you and Winifred can make it work," Anne told him, putting a brave smile on her face so that he doesn't know that her heart is breaking on the inside.

Gilbert's face becomes confused. "What? Anne-" he was once again cut off again by the copper-headed beauty.

"Really. I wish you every bit of happiness," Anne said, as Gilbert rested his hand on her shoulder.

"I couldn't be truly happy with Winnie when I adore someone else," Gilbert admitted, making Anne look up at him in shock. If he didn't even like Winifred, then why was he courting her? "You,"

This completely caught Anne off guard. "Me?" She said, fairly quietly. Gilbert was surprised at the fact that he could hear what she was saying.

"Yes, you," he said, putting a soft (that can also be seen as loving) smile on his face, as he took one of her hands in his. "I know it took me a while to figure out. But, I love you, Anne," Gilbert took his deepest, darkest secret from inside his gut and pushed it out into the open. "I've probably loved you from the start,"

Anne's mouth was opening and closing like a fish. For the first time, he's rendered Anne Shirley-Cuthbert, speechless!

"I'm not expecting anything in return, but. Winnie said you love me," Gilbert finished, watching as Anne's eyebrows crinkle in that cute way that he likes.

"I know I like you," Anne says, which made Gilbert smile. The fact that the crush she has on him could turn to love one day.

Gilbert reached out and held Anne's hand. "That's good enough for me," it doesn't matter whether she says she loves him tomorrow, next week, next year or even 30 years from now! He would hold onto her for the rest of his life.


End file.
